Rihanna is the cutest woman on the planet: Shakira

She may have been away from the music scene for a while, but Shakira is back with a bang. The video of the Colombian beauty’s latest song with singer Rihanna, from her upcoming self-titled album, has crossed 77 million views on YouTube in less than a week.

The singer calls RiRi “the cutest woman on the planet”.

In an interview with HT City, the Hips Don’t Lie hitmaker says, “Working with Rihanna was utopia. We share amazing chemistry. She even taught me dance moves; she was a very good teacher!”

Not just professionally, the 37-year-old Grammy-winner — who is married to Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué, 26 — is in a “happy place” personally and emotionally, too.

“Gerard is the best thing to have happened to me. He is with me not because of any interest other than the love that unites us. And now, we have Milan (the couple’s one-year-old son) too,” she says.

When asked what Milan has grown up to be like, she quips, “He’s great...so mellow, but very alert, too. Also, he loves being in the studio. Now, I’ve realised I have a li’l rockstar at home, since he loves Green Day,” says Shakira, who came up with the name Milan as “it means dear and gracious in Slavic and unification in Sanskrit.”

Is the couple planning to be parents again? “Gerard and I definitely want more children! It’s just a matter of time,” says Shakira.

With her album due for a March release, here’s the ­hip-swiveller talking about what to expect from it.

What’s the inspiration behind your upcoming album, Shakira? What kind of music can the fans look forward to?This album is something I had been working on for over two years. The work on it has spanned a very eventful and the happiest period in my life by far, including the birth of my son, Milan. I’ve explored new directions, worked with many different people, and written many demos before arriving at the finished product that I will soon be presenting. When the time came to put a name to this album, I realised that it’s not exactly a thematic album, though love is and always has been one of my main subjects and a source for ­inspiration. It’s also not as conceptual as some of my albums in the past have been. Your song, Can’t Remember to Forget You, is rocking music charts everywhere.

Why was Rihanna your choice to collaborate with?The song is reggae, yet has a vintage feel. That’s why Rihanna is the perfect ­feature in the song. I was eager to work with her for a long time. Her voice in the song is just unreal cause she is reggae! The intensity with which she delivers her lines is amazing.

How hard is it to balance professional and personal life once you have a baby?It is a part of motherhood, and I’m still trying to figure it all out. I have a feeling I will try to do the same for the rest of my life. Some people put it like it’s very idyllic, some people put it like it’s a torturing experience, but it’s not quite one thing or the other. It’s like life – it comes with everything.

Meanwhile...

Shakira has been slammed by a Colombian politician who calls her latest single’s video ‘immoral’. Marco Fidel Ramirez has started a petition to have his country’s National Television Authority ban the music video, saying it promotes tobacco and lesbianism because the two ladies are seen smoking cigars and cuddling.